Conveyor systems are widely used for transporting materials from one point to another. In factories, conveyors carry objects along assembly lines from one processing point to the next, bring materials out of storage and return finished products to warehouse locations. In airports, conveyors are used to move baggage and other cargo from ticketing counters to make up areas where the items are placed onto trucks and carried to waiting planes. Conveyors are also used to bring items from a plane to a baggage claim area inside an airport terminal. These systems can be quite long, move at a wide range of speeds and be arranged in many difference configurations.
When objects such as baggage arrive at a final or intermediate destination, they must generally be brought to rest before being further processed. At low speeds, the objects may fall off the end off the conveyor into a pile for further manual processing, or they may be pushed laterally off the conveyor by a diverter or pusher. When the objects are carried in a tray or other carrier, such as is commonly done with baggage, a device such as a tipper must be provided to tip or otherwise remove the baggage from the carrier. Baggage is relatively durable, and such treatment does little harm. However, when the baggage or other objects are moving at high speeds, it cannot safely be tipped or dropped from the conveyor. The kinetic energy of the moving baggage must be absorbed in order to stop the object, and when the energy is absorbed by the bag itself or other nearby bags, damage often occurs. Tippers operating at high speeds can also damage baggage. In addition, when baggage is to be manually processed after leaving the conveyor, the potential for injury to persons working near the terminal end of the conveyor is high. Finally, if items of baggage arrive in quick succession at a station, it can be difficult for the persons processing the items to work efficiently. However, slowing down a conveyor also results in a lower throughput and reduces efficiency. Therefore, systems today generally operate at a relatively high speed, and safety precautions must be taken to minimize damage to the baggage or other objects leaving the conveyor and injury to individuals working near the conveyor.